The California State Fair is a landmark event of summer in Sacramento. It's a massive affair. It's a contest for ranch animals, it's a farming demonstration, a carnival and a midway, it's a concert, a food court and a sales presentation.

One of the attractions is an air-conditioned tent with dozens of booths selling oddball products and knick-knacks. Depending on your temperament, it is either the best or the worst place in the world. Salespeople for vacuum cleaners, cleaning supplies, pots and pans, whole-house fans and shower build-ins surround you on every side.

But there was a big difference among the booths. Some had pull. Some booths had someTHING that got your attention and got you engaged. It wasn't a sale, but it was defintely the first step to a sale. I was there for about 20 minutes, so I made a list.

How to get convention attendees to visit your booth:

1. Chairs

   Provide chairs for a presentation, or a bed, pillow, massage chair, airbed, etc. to rest on. I saw massage chairs, memory foam and smart gel cushions being sold this way, but when chairs filled up, the sales booth had a comfortable audience, listening to their pitch.

   

2. Raffle

   Have a drawing for a iPad. For some reason the iPad has become the defacto convention giveaway. The convention attendees will be absorbed when they are filling out the form for the raffle, so you probably won't be able to sell to them, but you will have their names and phone numbers for your mailing list. At the state fair, Princess Cruises was giving away a cruise to Alaska, and they had a swarm of people tapping their details into rows of electronic tablets.

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